Where: Recreation Department

When: Thursday, April 29, 2010 from 1 pm until 5 pm

Reflecting our desire to expand the regional festival while continuing past traditions, the Festival Foundation has announced that it will be adding a “Forestry and Wildlife Field Day” to this year’s events.

The State of Georgia has over 24 million acres in forest land.  Swainsboro and Emanuel County is centered in the heart of this “the timber belt”.  Many citizens in this region either work in timber, own land, or are affected indirectly by the industry. According to Bill Rogers, Chairman of the Festival Foundation, “It’s only fitting that the Pine Tree Festival and Southeast Timber Expo grow to include a forest and wildlife field day to spotlight this important renewable resource.”

The Forest and Wildlife Field Day will be held on Thursday, April 29, 2010 from 1 pm until 5 pm and will culminate with the Georgia Forestry Association Regional Landowners Meeting that evening. Russ Yeomans, Co-Chair of the Southeast Timber Expo explains, “We are extremely excited to be teaming up with GFA on Thursday April 29^th to offer landowners and friends of forestry, an opportunity to learn about management practices and brush up on current events and happenings in the forest industry.” The meeting is slated begin at 6 p.m.

Many forest and wildlife businesses and organizations will be on hand to promote forestry service and management techniques. Expected to attend are experts from the Georgia Forestry Commission, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, The Nature Conservancy,  The University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry, The University of Georgia College of Agriculture, The Longleaf Alliance and The National Wild Turkey Federation.

Outside classroom environments will be the setting for a beautiful trek down a short trail linking stations that will cover topics such as Streamside Management, Water Quality, Pond Management, Pine Straw Production, Forest Heath/ Invasive Species, Herbaceous Weed Control and Wildlife Habitat.

The Southeast Timber Exposition is also excited to announce that through cooperation with the City of Swainsboro, the University of Georgia and the Georgia Forestry Commission, a 10-12 acre experiment plot will be added to the site. The site will include multiple plantings of longleaf pines, along with test plots of loblolly and slash pines. Plantings will be early and late fall, and winter. Rodney Kellum and the Southeastern Technical College Forestry Department have volunteered to help manage and maintain the plot. Mark Crosby, UGA Extension Agent along with Steve Chapman, GFC and Dr. David Dickens, UGA are spearheading the effort. The desire is to have a working forest in place by this time next year.